Priest writes excoriating open letter to Nancy Pelosi

3 years ago

(Billy Hallowell) Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi is openly pro-choice, a stance that, quite obviously, contradicts Catholic teaching. After she recently rebuffed a reporter and used her faith to defend her policy views on abortion, it seems at least one priest is calling for her to either comply with — or renounce Catholicism.

In an open letter, Fr. Frank Pavone, national director for Priests for Life, a pro-life organization, made known his discontent with Pelosi’s most recent comments about abortion.

“Last Thursday, June 13, you were asked a question in a press briefing that you declined to answer. The question was, ‘What is the moral difference between what Dr. Gosnell did to a baby born alive at 23 weeks and aborting her moments before birth?,’” Pavone wrote. “Instead of even attempting to answer the question, you resorted to judgmental ad hominem attacks on the reporter who asked it, saying, ‘You obviously have an agenda. You’re not interested in having an answer.’”

The priest said, though, that it is Pelosi’s stance on the matter that is problematic, as she isn’t interested in “giving an answer.”

But that wasn’t the harshest of his rebukes. Pavone went on to charge that Pelosi made a “mockery of the Catholic faith” during the press conference and that she offended millions of Americans who follow church doctrine. Here, he was referring to her claim to be a “practicing and respectful Catholic” who believes that the abortion discussion is “sacred ground.”

“You speak here of Catholic faith as if it is supposed to hide us from reality instead of lead us to face reality, as if it is supposed to confuse basic moral truths instead of clarify them, and as if it is supposed to help us escape the hard moral questions of life rather than help us confront them,” he continued.